Birthday Bashed
by KittenRainbow
Summary: When it's time for the Annual Butterfly Migration, Wolfie Mario is ready and wants everyone to see it with him! But his friends all seem to be too busy to spend time with him, making up excuses to get out of it. And when Mario finds out that they're lying and avoiding him on purpose, he isn't too happy. (Based on the MLP episode: "Party of One".) R&R, please, and hope you like it!
1. Excuses, Excuses

It all started on one sunny Sunday morning in the Mushroom Kingdom. It was quite the busy place, with lots of Toads scurrying around, doing their daily errands and shopping trips. The little children played outside in the sunshine, hoping to get a few more hours of energetic playtime before the day ended and they had to go back to school. The sun seemed nicer today, not scorching the land; instead, it gave the whole village that friendly touch of warmth. Not a dark cloud was present in the sky, making this seem like a perfect day. Most of the autumn and winter flowers were in bloom, spreading their colorful beauty all throughout the various flower fields and patches.

But there were no butterflies flying about. No, they were all gone for the day, for they were gathering all their relatives for the big Butterfly Migration that was going to be occur later this day! For three whole days, all different butterflies of various shapes and sizes came to the Field of Paper Flowers to socialize among one another in their special butterfly language and to feed on the flowers' sweet nectar. But it was only on the first day when the rarest and most unique kinds of butterflies came to the Field, including the Rainbow Star butterfly, which was found only on the remote areas of the Starlight Kingdom. This would be a very special day for the winged insects of the Lepidoptera order.

And who of all people would be most excited to witness this marvelous spectacle?

* * *

"Oh, I'm so excited!" Wolfie Mario said happily as he ran through the streets of Toad Town, holding some butterfly-shaped invitations. He had been waiting weeks for this beautiful event! He had been so busy thinking about the migration that he seldom though about anything else. Plus, as much as he wanted to get there early, he wanted his closest friends and family to see it, too! After hours of coloring and cutting out paper, he had finally finished making the invitations and was now running to give them to his friends and family. He assumed they weren't going to be busy, since everyone was usually laid-back and relaxed on Sunday, with nothing to do.

At least, he hoped...

* * *

"Luigi!" the little wolf called as he entered the castle, not noticing the various Toads who scurried away from his sight with half-wrapped boxes in their hands. "Where are you?"

"O-Oh, I'm here in the kitchen, Mario!" Luigi answered a few seconds later, his voice sounding distant.

Mario immediately headed over to the kitchen and opened the doors, just in time to see Luigi and Peach shove some cake frosting tubes in a drawer. "Hey, guys!" he said cheerfully.

"What's going on, Mario? That smile on your face tells me something's up!" Peach replied, standing in front of the drawer, with her hands behind her back.

Mario took no notice. Instead, he grabbed two of the invitations and gave them to Luigi and Peach. "I have something for you!" he said, beaming.

Luigi took the invitation and opened it. "Oh, the Butterfly Migration, huh?" he asked, looking at the card. It had no writing on it, but Luigi could understand his brother's drawings.

"Oh, that's wonderful, Mario! I can't wait to see it!" Peach asked, looking at her invitation. "When is it?"

"It's later this afternoon!" the little wolf answered.

Suddenly, Luigi and Peach gasped as both of them dropped the cards. "Th-This afternoon...?" the princess said, her voice trailing off.

"Like..._this_ exact Sunday afternoon?" Luigi repeated, starting to sweat a little.

"Yes, it's this afternoon. That's when the most rarest and unique butterflies will arrive," Mario said, looking a little confused at Luigi and Peach's reactions. "Why?"

Peach looked at Luigi desperately. "We won't be able to finish it by then!" she hissed.

"Finish what?" Mario asked, hearing her.

Peach and Luigi looked at the little wolf. "W-Well...you see, Mario..." Luigi started.

"There's a huge business meeting with the other royals of the land and we won't be able to make it!" Peach finished in one breath.

Luigi looked at her, surprised. "What...?"

"I-I never heard of any meeting today..." Mario said, his wolf ears flattening in disappointment.

"Oh, i-it's last minute! Super important, and we can't miss it!" Peach continued, winking at Luigi.

"But why does Luigi have to come?" Mario asked.

"It's because...they thought it would be interesting to bring him in! They want to know all about him, you know, since he's not a native? Y-Yeah, that's how it is..." Peach continued, sweating a bit, as well.

"Oh...okay then," Mario said, disappointed. "Have fun at your meeting..." He turned and walked out of the kitchen.

As soon as both Luigi and Peach were sure the little wolf was gone, they sighed in relief and leaned against the counter. "Man, I wasn't sure that was gonna work," Luigi said. "I was surprised that you could come up with an excuse that fast."

"I've had some practice with Toadsworth when I was a little girl. Kinda becomes easy after a while," Peach said.

"But I feel bad lying to him..." Luigi lamented, looking out the kitchen door, where he saw no one. "I can't help but feel that he'll be mad at us if he finds out we were making up excuses for not going to the migration..."

"Well, at least this can buy us some time to finish what we started," Peach said, opening the drawer and taking out the frosting tubes. "I don't think he'll be mad; he's too sweet for that."

* * *

"Well...Luigi and Peach won't be able to come..." Mario said softly to himself as he walked out of the castle. He pulled out the rest of the invitations and looked at them for a few seconds before looking up. "But everyone else who I invited should be able to come!" he said, some of his cheerfulness returning. "I guess it can still be fun at the migration with the others, even without two guests..."

Mario looked around the streets, until he found three more of his guests: Toad, Yoshi and Daisy, who were coming from a party store with bags in their hands. _Oh, I bet they can come!_ he thought happily to himself as he went over to them.

Yoshi saw the little wolf first. "Oh, hi, Mario!" he said, waving.

"Hi, guys! I have something for you!" Mario replied as he gave three invitations to his friends.

"Hey, thanks, man!" Toad said gratefully as he opened the card and looked at it. "Oh, it's a butterfly card...with butterflies on it," he said, not sure what it was about.

Yoshi looked at him. "Hey...butterflyception," he said, grinning and pointing to the card. "Get it?" The two laughed among themselves at the joke.

Mario didn't understand, but he nodded anyway. "It's an invitation to the Field of Paper Flowers this afternoon!" he said, beaming. "The Butterfly Migration is happening, and I wanted you guys to come see it with me!"

"Oh, that would be totally awesome-" Yoshi began to say until Daisy interrupted him. "Wait, you said it was this afternoon?" she asked nervously, a few beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"Yes, it is, why?" Mario asked, feeling a bit of déjà vu.

Yoshi, Toad and Daisy eyed each other. "W-Well...you see, Mario, we kinda can't make it to your butterfly reunion because..." Yoshi began to say.

"Er...we have to go babysit a few Yoshi eggs for a friend of ours! She's super-duper busy, and she paid us to watch them for her while she's away on business!" Toad finished, grinning as wide as he could.

"Y-Yeah, that's exactly why we can't come!" Daisy said, with the exact same grin.

"Oh...I see..." Mario said, feeling disappointed again. "S-Sorry to have bothered you..." he said softly, then turned and walked away, wondering why his guests were all so busy today, of all days.

* * *

"Oh, a-are you sure you can't come...?" Mario asked Alexis, who was with the Trio.

"Yeah, I-I'm super sorry, Mario...b-but, um...Emily has a dentist's appointment this afternoon and we won't be able to make it," Alexis apologized, adjusting his Secret Agent CUI hat. "She, uh...ate too much candy and got, um...thousands of cavities."

"Hey!" Emily pouted, hearing Alexis.

"Oh, okay then..." Mario said sadly, walking away from Alexis.

The same thing happened with Danni and Super Lakitu. When he approached them (separately) and gave them the invitations, they both said they couldn't make it to the migration, due to some unexpected dilemma they had to attend to. And when the little wolf asked Colleen and the Kitty, they too had to decline. They weren't able to come, they said. Even Ces the Chain Chomp and Jasmine were unable to attend.

All this declining was making Mario sadder by the minute. Not one of his invited guests so far was able to come to the Migration with him. ...Would he have to go alone?

Mario had only one invitation left, though. He really hoped that the last guest was able to come...


	2. Running Away

Inside the Dimble Woods, a certain black-clad figure was pacing around the inside of his secluded was in hot water and he knew it. Luigi had notified him that Mario was going around town, inviting people to the Butterfly Migration. The problem was, Mr. L wouldn't be able to attend, either, but he couldn't say why. He was going to have to make up an excuse, but since he was literally incapable of lying (especially to Mario), it was going to be very difficult.

"C'mon, you can do this," he was saying to himself, still pacing the length of the living room. "You can make up a simple excuse. It's not the same as lying..."

Mr. L turned to his younger brother, Mr. M, who was sitting on the sofa. "Is making up an excuse the same as lying?!" he asked frantically.

Mr. M looked up from reading a magazine. "Umm...I don't really know," he answered. "I guess, in some sense..."

Before the Green Thunder could reply, there was a soft knocking on the door.

"Well, I guess this is it," Mr. L sighed as he went to go open it. "You can do this, you can do this..." he said softly to himself. But as soon as he opened the door and saw Mario holding a card, he freaked out completely and slammed the door shut in his face, before the little wolf had a chance to say anything.

"Dude, what the hell was that for?! He didn't even get to speak!" Mr. M said in surprise, putting down the magazine.

"I-I can't do it!" Mr. L cried as he turned away and ran up the stairs to his room. "I'll mess up and he'll know about everything!"

"Fine, I guess I'll make up the excuse," his younger brother sighed as he got up and went to open the door, his cape swishing behind him.

But when Mr. M opened the door, there was no one there.

"Um, hello?" he called as he stepped out into the front porch. When he looked down, he saw that there was a yellow butterfly card on the ground. Mr. M picked it up and looked inside. "Hmm...butterflies on a butterfly card...must be butterflyception," he said to himself as he went inside and closed the door.

* * *

Having Mr. L slam the door in his face was plenty enough for Mario's heart to break and shatter, even without hearing an excuse. Not even Mr. L was coming. He had left the black-clad figure's home as fast as he could, trying to keep in the tears that were already going down his face.

"Why won't anyone want to go to the migration with me?" he asked himself. "Do they not want to see the butterflies...?"

He suddenly stopped walking. Now that his heart was broken, there was room for evil thoughts to enter. "What if they don't like me anymore and that's why they keep trying to avoid me?" he asked himself out loud.

Mario looked around the streets of Toad Town and realized for the first time that it was completely empty. Not one Toad was out on the streets shopping or doing errands. Even the kids had disappeared, though it was still late morning.

"That's funny, where did everyone go?" he asked himself. As he looked around, he caught sight of one person walking quickly behind some buildings, apparently trying to stay hidden. When Mario took a second glance, he discovered that the person was Luigi.

"Hey, I thought he was supposed to be at that meeting with Peach!" he said softly to himself, feeling betrayed. "He lied to me, and so did she!" The little wolf watched as Luigi slipped around into an alley. He leaned against the wall, tapping his foot and whistling casually. Then he turned as another person came from the shadows, holding a white box. That other person turned out to be Peach!

The two stood directly next to each other, back-to-back. "Have you seen Mario yet?" Luigi asked Peach, looking away from her. "No, I haven't," Peach answered, in the exact same hushed tone. "It's a good thing, too, I would hate for him to ruin everything before its time." In one swift move, she slipped the white box into Luigi's arms, then ducked back into the shadows. Luigi looked around the alley, making sure that he was not being watched, then quickly walked out of there, concealing the box from sight.

Mario, unfortunately, had witnessed the entire thing. "Why do they think that I would ruin everything?" he asked himself, feeling upset. The dark thundercloud began to form above his head.

The little wolf kept walking along the barren streets of Toad Town, still confused as to why everyone had so mysteriously disappeared. Did they not want to be around him, either?

Suddenly, his sensitive wolf ears detected the sound of soft footsteps. He gasped and ducked behind a water barrel, making sure to keep quiet. As Mario looked about, he caught sight of Yoshi, Toad and Daisy all walking stealthily in the shadows of a building. All three were holding wrapped bags, and Daisy also carried a basket that was covered with a sort of velvet cloth. "Keep quiet, he might be around here!" Daisy said to Yoshi and Toad. "If he finds out about this, everything we worked so hard for will all become a disaster!"

"Don't worry, it's not that far from here! We'll make it!" Toad whispered. "It's just a good thing I have the keys."

Mario raised an eyebrow as the three ducked around a corner and vanished from sight. "They don't want me around, huh?" he asked quietly. "Now I see why they all made excuses. They're not going to babysit someone's Yoshi eggs, apparently..." As he closed his eyes, the thundercloud grew larger and darker, growing a dark red tint.

* * *

At that very moment, Mr. L happened to walk by, now decked out in the Kitsune ears and tail. He was carrying a bag that obviously had something secret in there. "Hey there, Mario," he said casually as he walked by the barrel, having seen the little wolf hiding there.

Suddenly, the black-clad figure stopped in his tracks, realizing his mistake. "O-Oh, no," he said softly to himself as he immediately swished his tail around and took off in the air. He had to get away from Mario before he discovered what was really going on.

"Hey, wait!" Mario called out to him as he got up from his hiding spot and started to follow him. Mr. L knew he could not answer without telling the truth. Keeping his mouth shut was the only way this was going to work. He kept flying high in the air, eventually hiding in a tall tree, hoping that Mario had lost his trail.

Before the Green Thunder could take two breaths to rest, Mario came out from some branches, looking determined to find answers. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked curtly.

Mr. L gave a surprised yelp and dashed out of the tree. He kept flying as fast as he could until he decided to land in a secluded alley, on the other side of town. It was dark and quiet in there, with no sign of the little wolf present. "Phew, I think I lost him..." he panted. He slowly reached over and opened the bag a little, checking to make sure the contents were alright. "I gotta get there on time..." he said softly to himself, closing the bag.

At that moment, Mario emerged from the dark shadows and glared at Mr. L, looking peeved now. "What's the real reason why you don't want to come to the migration with me?!" he shouted, the thundercloud above his head emitting a tiny bolt of lightning.

"Sweet mother of coffee!" Mr. L gasped as he hid the bag and took off into the air, flying as fast as he possibly could, almost breaking the sound barrier. He did not stop flying until he came along a patch of fluffy white clouds. Panting from exhaustion, he grabbed ahold of one and hauled himself onto it, flopping onto his back. "At least I'm safe up here," Mr. L said to himself, wiping his forehead. "Mario can't fly; there's no way he'd get up here."

As the Green Thunder took a few seconds of respite, Mario suddenly jumped onto the cloud, almost knocking Mr. L from his position. He had been using the dark thundercloud that was above his head as a form of transportation, since his tail was too weak to fly him.

"What the freakin' hell?!" Mr. L yelped. Mario did not answer; instead, his eyes came to rest on the bag. Mr. L noticed and tried to conceal it from sight, but it was too late. "WHAT'S IN THE BAG?!" the little wolf yelled, his voice echoing to the faraway mountains and back. In a matter of seconds, the cloud that Mr. L had been resting on (along with the other ones in sight) turned from fluffy and white to dark and stormy.

"Oh, snap!" Mr. L gasped as he jumped off the cloud and flew down, heading for the castle, apparently. "Gotta get out of here...!"

As soon as Mario saw where the black-clad figure was heading, he jumped off the cloud as well and started running after Mr. L. He had had enough with everyone avoiding him. "Get back here, I'm talking to you!" he yelled.

Mr. L continued flying as fast as his Kitsune tail would let him. But Mario was surprisingly fast and was right on his trail, even though he was on the ground and running. The dark thundercloud was above his head again, and was growing larger.

The castle was now in sight. At the doors, Peach was waiting for Mr. L impatiently, looking around nervously. "Where are you, darn it..." she murmured softly to herself. As she glanced around, she finally saw the black-clad figure flying for his life towards the castle. "Oh, finally!" she said in relief. But her relief turned to shock when she saw Mario running behind him, going at an incredible speed.

"We have a bit of a situation here!" Mr. L yelled out to Peach as he struggled to fly faster.

Peach held the doors open. As soon as Mr. L managed to slip through, she quickly went in and slammed the doors shut. Mario, however, crashed into the door, not having enough time to stop completely. He picked himself up from the floor and started knocking on the door incessantly with both fists. "Why won't you guys talk to me...?!" he cried.

Peach opened the door a crack. "Um...hi there, Mario," she said uneasily.

"Did you have fun at your meeting?" Mario asked her, his voice dead serious.

An embarrassed blush appeared on Peach's cheeks. "O-Oh...the meeting," she said. "I-It was nice, I guess. Got a lot of stuff done."

Mario tried to look past her. "I don't suppose you'll mind if I come in, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The princess's eyes widened as she shook her head. "A-Actually...no, I _would_ mind if you entered," she said, blocking Mario from looking inside. "The thing is...we have some, uh..._construction _going on back there!" she said, her voice growing louder at the end of her sentence.

"_You heard her! Make some construction noises!_" a hushed voice inside the castle whispered. After that, there were voice-made construction sounds being emitted throughout the rooms, trying to simulate a work site.

"S-See? All busy up in there, and I can't let you in, sorry," Peach said, a fake grin on her face. "You'll have to come by later."

Mario did not move.

"Um...I have to get back to, uh...construction, now, so if you'll excuse me..." Peach said uneasily, starting to inch the door shut.

Mario simply glared at her, his tail starting to bush up. "Okay..." he said, in a strained voice. "I guess I'll go to the migration myself, then..."

"Okie-dokie, then," Peach said, still keeping her smile on. "Bye-bye..." She slowyl kept closing the door until it locked into place.

The little wolf narrowed his eyes, still looking at the door. "There is something going on here, and I'm going to find out what!" he said. "There has to be a reason why all my friends are abandoning me on purpose. But I'm gonna need to find someone who knows about all this!"


End file.
